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In case you aren't one of the 20 million people that bough Overwatch, well, then you're probably tired of hearing about it, but you also probably want to know what the big deal is about. Well Blizzard has just the thing for you next weekend, as you can play the game for free on all platforms!

Blizzard

Attention, recruits! If you haven't already had the opportunity to suit up and save the world as one of Overwatch's heroes, now's your chance.

From November 18–21, we're putting out the call to any prospective agents: assemble your team and dive in during the Overwatch Free Weekend on PC, PlayStation 4, or Xbox One!

For this free weekend, we're making Overwatch's full roster of 22 heroes and 13 maps available for play in a variety of modes, including Quick Play, Custom Games, and the latest Weekly Brawl. Players will also have the ability to level up, earn Loot Boxes, and unlock a variety of different customization options.

(Plus, if you decide to purchase a copy of Overwatch after test driving the game, you'll get to keep any progress that you made during the weekend—just be sure to use the same Battle.net, Xbox Live or Sony Entertainment account that you played on.)

For more details and to learn how you can participate, read on below!

The Overwatch Free Weekend will run from November 18–21. PlayStation 4 owners with a PlayStation Plus membership, Xbox One owners with an Xbox Live Gold membership, and Windows PC users with a Battle.net account will be able to download and play Overwatch for FREE during this period—no special keys or sign-up codes needed!

The free period will begin on November 18 at 11 a.m. PT (18:00 UTC) and end on November 21 at 4:00 p.m. PT (23:00 UTC) in all gameplay regions. If you'd like to see when the weekend will go live in your region, check out the reference guides below.

EUROPE:

THE AMERICAS:

ASIA:

20:00 BST on Nov 18

20:00 CEST on Nov 18

20:00 MSK on Nov 18

11:00 a.m. PST on Nov 18

12:00 p.m. MST on Nov 18

1:00 p.m. CST on Nov 18

2:00 p.m. EST on Nov 18

3:00 p.m. AST on Nov 18

3:30 p.m. NST on Nov 18

5:00 p.m. BRST on Nov 18

3:00 a.m. SGT on Nov 19

6:00 a.m. AEDT on Nov 19

8:00 a.m. NZDT on Nov 19

3:00 a.m. CST on Nov 19

4:00 a.m. KST on Nov 19

4:00 a.m. JST on Nov 19

Before your watch can begin, you'll first need to install Overwatch on your chosen platform. Every platform is a little different—to install and play on November 18, please follow the instructions below.

FOR WINDOWS PC:

Step 1: Download and install the Battle.net desktop app, if you haven't already, and launch it.Step 2: Create a FREE Battle.net account, or log in with an existing account. Step 3: Click the "Overwatch" icon, located on the left-hand side of the Battle.net desktop app.Step 4: Select your region from the drop-down menu, then click "Install" to begin the installation process.Step 5: Once installed, click "Play" to begin!

FOR PLAYSTATION 4:

Step 1: Turn on your PlayStation 4 and log in to your preferred local user. Step 2: Go to PlayStation Store and select "Search" from the top menu. Step 3: In the search field, type in "Overwatch."Step 4: Select "Overwatch Free Weekend" from the search results and then click "Download."Step 5: Once the download and installation process is complete, click "Start" to begin!

FOR XBOX ONE:

Step 1: Turn on your Xbox One and log in to your Xbox Live account.Step 2: Go to the Xbox One Store, then select "Search."Step 3: In the search field, type in "Overwatch."Step 4: Select "Overwatch: Origins Edition" from the search results and then click "Free Trial."Step 5: Once the download and installation process is complete, click "Launch" to begin!

The Overwatch Free Weekend client will be available for download on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One beginning on September 9 at the designated launch times listed above. (Players in Japan will be able to download the client shortly before the Free Weekend begins.)

Q.What game content will be available during the Free Weekend?
A. During the Free Weekend, players will have access to Overwatch's full roster of heroes, maps, and a selection of features—including Quick Play, Custom Games, Loot Boxes, and Weekly Brawls.

Q.How many heroes are available in Overwatch?
A. There are 22 heroes available to play in Overwatch! To learn more about these heroes, click here.

Q.How many maps are available in Overwatch?
A. There are four different game modes and 13 different maps available in Overwatch!

Q. Do I need Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus to participate in the Free Weekend?
A. Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus is required to play on Xbox One during the Free Weekend.

Q. What languages are supported during Free Weekend?
A. The Free Weekend will be supported by 10 languages across both platforms: English, French, German, Castilian Spanish, Polish, Italian, Russian, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and Japanese.

Q. Will my progress from the Free Weekend carry over if I purchase Overwatch later?
A. Yes. Any progression you earn, including levels as well as skins and other items you get from Loot Boxes, will carry over to the full game if you purchase Overwatch: Origins Edition on Xbox One or PlayStation 4 or any version of Overwatch on PC—just be sure you purchase the game on the same console account you played on during this free weekend.

Your stats will also be retained. (Trophies and achievements, however, have been disabled for the Free Weekend.)

Q. Will PC and console gamers be able to play together during the Free Weekend?
A: No, cross-platform play is not available in Overwatch.

Q. Will there be any sort of maintenance planned during the Free Weekend?
A. There's no downtime or maintenance currently planned for the Free Weekend. If this plan changes at any point, we'll be sure to provide information about major service interruptions in the official forums. For additional status updates, be sure to follow @PlayOverwatch on Twitter.

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Q.How many heroes are available in Overwatch?
A. There are 22 heroes available to play in Overwatch! To learn more about these heroes, click here.

I will admit that I didn't watch Blizzcon until the very end - a combination of schoolwork and tiredness can do that to you - so I don't know if this has already been speculated or even confirmed. But wouldn't it make sense to mention 22 heroes available to play in Overwatch unless they were going to full-on release Sombra so she was available to play during this time period?

IT doesn't make much sense to promote the PTR for new folks so my suspicion (which might have been confirmed but hell, I am still gonna suggest it here!) that Sombra will be released on the main client on or before the 18th of November.

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I will admit that I didn't watch Blizzcon until the very end - a combination of schoolwork and tiredness can do that to you - so I don't know if this has already been speculated or even confirmed. But wouldn't it make sense to mention 22 heroes available to play in Overwatch unless they were going to full-on release Sombra so she was available to play during this time period?

IT doesn't make much sense to promote the PTR for new folks so my suspicion (which might have been confirmed but hell, I am still gonna suggest it here!) that Sombra will be released on the main client on or before the 18th of November.

Sombra is hero number 23. Right now there are only 22 hero’s around (6 Attack, 6 Defensive, 5 Tanks and 5 Support), Maybe you've missed Ana as the 22th hero

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I am pretty excited about this event because all of my friends own this game and I was iffy about buying it because I didn't know how it ran on my pc. So this is a good opportunity to make sure that it works before I buy it.

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There's a lot of stuff happening in Overwatch right now, with the free weekend, seasonal event and now a huge 50% discount on the game, getting the base edition price down to 19,99$/E and 29,99$/E for the collector's edition. So now's the perfect time to try the game out and then buy it cheap and continue your progress! The sale ends on February 27th and here are some of the things happening right now in the game:
The new legendary skins for this year's event, and for more you can check out the official event page.

Free Weekend details
You can now change skins at the start of a match
Big Mercy changes patch notes
And here are the latest patch notes for the seasonal event and more:
February 8 (source)
PATCH HIGHLIGHTS
New Seasonal Event: Lunar New Year 2018
Get ready to ring in the Year of the Dog!
This year, we’re celebrating Lunar New Year with over 50 new seasonal items including legendary skins like Red Phoenix (Zhu Que) Mercy, Black Tortoise (Xuan Wu) Zarya, White Tiger (Bai Hu) Genji, and Black Lily Widowmaker. Experience our updates to our Capture the Flag mode—including a competitive Capture the Flag mode and Sudden Death—on a brand-new map, Ayutthaya.
To learn more about the new Capture the Flag changes, click here.
Hero Skin Selection
Fashion-forward heroes, rejoice! Players can now change hero skins with the “Select Skin” dropdown menu in the Hero Select screen at the start of a match. Show off your favorite unlocked skins when playing solo or coordinate with your friends to be the best dressed on the battlegrounds of tomorrow.
HERO UPDATES
Doomfist
Hand Cannon
Damage reduced from 11 to 6
Number of bullets fired increased from 6 to 11
Spread pattern made more consistent
Developer Comments: We have made a lot of progress with Doomfist’s movement in recent patches but we wanted to revisit his Hand Cannon. While the damage per bullet has been lowered, the number of bullets he fires per Hand Cannon shot has been increased which makes his overall damage output unchanged. Overall, these changes will help his Hand Cannon feel much more consistent.
Reaper
Death Blossom
Now fires at players behind barriers
Developer Comments: Previously, Reaper’s Death Blossom would target barriers but not the players hiding behind them. This change will make it more effective against shields and consistent with how other auto-target abilities work (e.g. McCree’s Deadeye, Symmetra’s Sentry Turret).
USER INTERFACE UPDATES
General
Matchmaking UI now displays the game mode players have queued for while waiting for players
Competitive Play leaver messages now display as a chat notification
The Hero Select screen now displays the game mode and map type
Heroes
Zenyatta’s Orb of Discord and Orb of Harmony will now display its target’s hero name
BUG FIXES
General
Fixed a bug that caused the mouse cursor to lose focus when using third party overlays (e.g. Discord)
Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented the Overwatch League scheduled matches of the day from loading
AI
Fixed a bug that prevented bots from voting on cards at the end of the match on Hybrid and Control maps
Competitive Play
Fixed a bug that prevented capture progress UI on Assault and Hybrid maps from displaying the correct team colors
Fixed a bug that allowed players to use the Hero Select screen during the loading screen at the start of a match
Deathmatch
Fixed a bug that prevented Widowmaker’s Infra-sight from functioning if it was used at the same time as another Widowmaker’s Infra-sight
Fixed a bug that caused Torbjörn to collide with his turret
Fixed a bug that caused Symmetra’s Sentry Turrets to continue targeting Junkrat’s Steel Trap after it was destroyed
Fixed a bug that prevented players from being able to stand on top of enemy players
Fixed a bug that allowed backfilling players to enter at 9th place during the match
Fixed a bug that caused targets hacked by Sombra to appear purple instead of red
Fixed a bug that caused the displayed hero on the lobby screen to appear in low detail when entering and exiting the Overwatch League screen
Game Browser and Custom Games
Fixed a bug that allowed players to summon infinite bots in custom games
Fixed a bug that caused D.Va to lose her Self-Destruct ultimate if she died out of her mech when the “Spawn with Ultimate Ready” option was enabled
Fixed a bug that caused the Victory voice line to play when a match ended in a draw while spectating
Heroes
Fixed a bug that caused airborne heroes to lose speed when changing direction
Fixed a bug that prevented golden weapon visual effects from displaying when an Overwatch League skin was equipped
Fixed a bug that caused heroes’ scoped shots to be calculated as misses in the accuracy statistic
Fixed a bug that prevented Ana’s Candy emote from displaying when viewing Kill Cam footage
Fixed a bug that caused Doomfist’s Rocket Punch to impact with D.Va’s mech before it materialized during her Call Mech ability
Fixed a bug that prevented kills caused by Doomfist’s Rocket Punch from receiving environmental kill credit
Fixed a bug that allowed D.Va’s mech to take damage before it materialized when using Call Mech
Fixed a bug that prevented Genji from sheathing his katana after using his Whirlwind emote
Fixed a bug that prevented Genji from using his Cyber-agility occasionally
Fixed a bug that caused Hanzo’s Dragonstrike to be calculated in the accuracy statistic
Fixed a bug that prevented Hanzo’s Wall Climb from activating occasionally
Fixed a bug that prevented Junkrat’s Concussive Mine from dealing damage if it was deflected by Genji
Fixed a bug that caused Mercy’s Caduceus Staff to disappear when using the Parasol emote
Fixed a bug that caused Mercy to fly in an unintended direction if she was stunned during Guardian Angel
Fixed a bug that prevented Mercy from destroying breakables she collides with in her flight path when using Guardian Angel
Fixed a bug that caused Mercy’s Valkyrie flight controls to not be precise when using Resurrect
Fixed a bug that caused Moira’s Biotic Grasp’s hits against barriers to be calculated as misses in her accuracy statistic
Fixed a bug that extended the cooldown of Orisa’s Halt! by one second if it successfully pulled an enemy
Fixed a bug that allowed Sombra to block Reaper’s Death Blossom if she used her Marioneta emote
Fixed a bug that caused Reinhardt to have a blank expression during his Toast victory pose
Fixed a bug that allowed projectiles to sometimes penetrate Reinhardt’s Barrier Field
Fixed a bug that prevented Reinhardt’s Charge bonus damage from being dealt if the target was sandwiched between a charging friendly Reinhardt and a charging enemy Reinhardt
Fixed a bug that caused Reinhardt to knock back a target instead of pinning them if he collided with an enemy at the start of his Charge
Fixed a bug that prevented Roadhog’s canister from appearing when viewing Overwatch League skins
Fixed a bug that caused Roadhog’s Chain Hook to clip the first-person camera when pulling in a target
Fixed a bug that prevented Sombra’s EMP from canceling an enemy Sombra’s Hack if it was in progress
Fixed a bug that prevented Symmetra’s Shield Generator from displaying in the Overwatch League skin preview screen
Fixed a bug that prevented Torbjörn’s lava ball from appearing in his Batter Up emote if his hammer was equipped
Fixed a bug that caused Widowmaker’s hair to not hang properly in the Hanging Around Highlight Intro when an Overwatch League skin was equipped
Fixed a bug that caused Widowmaker’s Venom Mine to use Overwatch League team colors when an Overwatch League skin was equipped
Fixed a bug that prevented Widowmaker’s Grappling Hook animation from playing when using the ability
Fixed a bug that caused Winston to lose some upward momentum when using Jump Pack off small inclines
Fixed a bug that caused Overwatch League team decals to disappear from Winston’s suit when he used Primal Rage
Fixed a bug that caused Zenyatta’s Discord Orb to fly in an odd direction if its target died before arriving
Hero Gallery
Fixed a bug that prevented players from purchasing non-hero sprays
Maps
Fixed a bug that caused some heroes to get stuck behind the lamp post directly outside the first Defender spawn room in Blizzard World
Fixed an issue that allowed players to reach unintended locations in Blizzard World
Fixed a bug that prevented D.Va’s Micro Missiles from passing through piñatas on Dorado
Fixed a bug that allowed Junkrat’s RIP-tire to travel under the trailer at the final point on Hollywood
Fixed a bug that prevented Moira’s Biotic Orbs from bouncing off the wooden pillars on Hollywood
Fixed a bug that caused the UI to show a fraction of a meter to go when reaching checkpoints on Escort and Assault/Escort maps
UI
Fixed a bug that prevented the hero portrait from displaying when watching Highlights when an Overwatch League skin was equipped
Fixed a bug that prevented player portraits from displaying during the Play of the Game, Kill Cam, Spectating, and Highlights

The Overwatch team is trying to boost some of the weaker heroes. This PTR patch brings changes to Mei, Doomfist and Sombra, while in the future we will see updates on Hanzo, Symmetra and Torbjorn.
In a new developer update, Jeff "from the Overwatch team" Kaplan summarises all the new updates for the first three heroes mentioned above, while he details some of the ideas the team has had about Hanzo.
If you can't or don't want to watch the video, all this information can be found in written form. Starting with the patch notes, we can see that Doomfist's ammo recovery rate is now faster and Mei's freeze lasts longer, while the cost of her alternate weapon fire cost has been reduced. Sombra gets some big changes: her Hack is now quicker, affects some targets in different ways and no longer gains ultimate charge from health packs. She also has extra time on her Translocator, while tweaks were made to her gun.
Blizzard Entertainment
Overwatch PTR Patch Notes – February 14, 2018
A new Overwatch patch is currently in development and now available for testing. To share your feedback or report and issue, please post in the PTR Feedback or PTR Bug Report forums.
Please note that the below patch notes only include changes currently available for testing on the PTR. While many of these changes will also be available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in a future patch, the PTR is PC-only and therefore will only reflect changes coming specifically to that platform.
HERO UPDATES
Doomfist
Hand Cannon
Ammo recovery rate increased from 0.8 seconds to 0.65 seconds per bullet
Developer Comment: This change will help Doomfist more consistently be able to use his weapon as part of his combos.
Mei
Endothermic Blaster
Freeze (slow) duration increased from 1 second to 1.5 seconds
Weapon alternate fire ammo cost reduced from 25 to 20
Developer Comment: Increasing Mei’s slow duration helps her freeze targets that are particularly elusive such as Genji or Lúcio. Lowering her alternate fire ammo cost allows her to more safely use it without costing her the ability to freeze enemies.
Sombra
EMP
No longer blocked by small objects (e.g. sign posts)
Hack
No longer gains ultimate charge from health pack healing
Cast time reduced from 0.8 seconds to 0.65 seconds
Now disables the following abilities:
Genji—Cyber-agility
Hanzo—Wall Climb
Pharah—Hover Jets
Lúcio—Healing Boost and Speed Boost (turns off current song entirely), Wall Ride
Mercy—Angelic Descent
Machine Pistol
Machine Pistol spread reduced from 3 to 2.7
Opportunist
Now activates when enemies’ health bars are at less than 100%, up from 50% health
Translocator
Duration increased from 15 seconds to 20 seconds
Developer Comment: The goal of these changes for Sombra is to remove the necessity for her teammates to take damage and heal themselves with her hacked heath packs to try to get her ultimate charged up quickly. Her ultimate will now come up less often, but there are more abilities that are disabled by Hack so it is more effective when used. Previously, Opportunist would only activate when an enemy’s health bar dipped below 50% but now the passive will reveal all damaged enemies which should help Sombra identify targets to pick off. Overall these changes should make her more effective and less reliant on her ultimate.
USER INTERFACE UPDATES
Mercy
Valkyrie
No longer shows enemies’ health bars unless they have taken damage
Developer Comment: This helps remove some clutter from Mercy players’ screens when they use her ultimate
(Source: Battle.net App)
Principal Designer Geoff Goodman made some clarifications on how Sombra's passive works on the PTR:
Geoff Goodman
Our patch note for her passive wasn't quite right, we're going to fix it very soon. Let me clarify what exactly is changing with it:

On live, her passive actually does 2 separate things:

1) It lets you see enemies through walls if they are less than half health
2) It lets you see enemy health bars above their heads if they are less than half health (regardless of if you had damaged them or not)

We're changing #2 so she can see health bars if they are injured at all, but #1 (wall hack) still requires <50% health to trigger. This allows her to have more information once she gets behind her enemies to plan the best way to attack. If you notice, this is also something Mercy gets when using Valkyrie and they both work the same way now. (source)
Moving on to Hanzo, Goodman had posted a week ago about some ideas the team had on this hero (which Kaplan mentions in the video). They tried replacing Scatter Arrow with Piercing Arrow, a projectile that would pierce through barriers. They also experimented with a version of Scatter Arrow that didn't ricochet off the floor. Lastly, they added a new ability on Hanzo's Reload button (which is currently unusued) that would reset the cooldown of his arrows. All these ideas have been shelved for now.
Two new abilities that will probably make it into the next PTR for Hanzo are a horizontal leap and a Volley that will allow him to shoot arrows in high sucession. Geoff Goodman clarified a few things about these abilities: the horizontal leap won't be replacing any of his other skills and it can be used like Tracer's Blink or as a disengage. Lastly, Hanzo can be mobile while casting his Volley.
Geoff Goodman
The way we have his leap working right now in our internal builds is that its a double-jump, much like his brother, but with a couple key differences. Firstly, it is mostly a horizontal leap (and its pretty fast), unlike Genji's vertical leap. Secondly, it has a small cooldown, which is necessary considering the amount of mobility it gives Hanzo now. Also, to clarify, you will leap towards the direction you are pressing, not the direction you are facing. This is the exact same control scheme we use for Tracer's blinks, so think of it like that.

For his new ability called Volley, we're still iterating on it. For example, we've already changed the numbers of arrows fired from 5 to 6 and lowered the damage per arrow. Currently it lasts up to 6 seconds, and allows you to fire about 3 arrows per second (up to 6 total). Each arrow fires at "full power" but deals only 80 damage (instead of his normal 125). There is no charge time while in this mode, if you hold the button down you will fire the arrows in a full-auto mode.

This has been really fun so far in playtests. He has a lot more options during combat now, and deciding how and when to use your Lunge ability is really interesting. You can use both ability to leap around a corner and fire a bunch of arrows into a key target, but then you're leaving yourself really open to counter attack. You can also save Lunge when you know there is an enemy Winston looking to jump on you to make a quick leap back while firing tons of arrows into him and his barrier. (source)

Wait a sec. Is Sonic arrow still on his kit or Will this jump substitute it? And If so... WHY??? Why take what Little utility he has for a stupid movement ability?!?!?
No, this is a separate ability bound to your jump key. He still has Sonic Arrow. (source)

will hanzo be mobile during that 6 second of channeling the volley?
Yes he isn't really 'channeling' it, it just changes his weapon's fire mode for that time. You can even fire a Sonic Arrow as one of your 6 shots if you want. (source)

For those of you that aren't among the 30+ million Overwatch players, another chance to try the game out has arrived! This weekend brings another free ride with all the content available, including the most recent seasonal event, the Year of the Dog. And, as usual, if you choose to buy the game after the weekend, you get to keep your progress and those sweet, sweet skins and other cosmetics!
February 16-19 (source)
Attention, recruits! If you haven't already had the opportunity to suit up and save the world as one of the heroes of Overwatch, now's your chance.
From February 16–19, we're calling on all prospective agents: assemble your team and dive in during the Overwatch Free Weekend on PC, PlayStation 4, or Xbox One!
For this free weekend, we're making Overwatch's full roster of 26 heroes and 16 maps available for play in a variety of modes, including Quick Play, Custom Games, and the Arcade. Players will also have the ability to level up, earn Loot Boxes, and unlock a variety of different customization options.
Plus, if you decide to purchase Overwatch after test driving the game, you'll get to keep any progress that you made during the weekend—just be sure to use the same Blizzard, Sony Entertainment, or Xbox Live account that you played on.
For more details and to learn how you can participate, read on below!

Deployment Schedule
Installation and Play Instructions
Free Weekend FAQ
The Overwatch Free Weekend will run from February 16–19. PlayStation 4 owners with a PlayStation Plus membership, Xbox One owners with an Xbox Live Gold membership, and Windows PC users with a Battle.net account will be able to download and play Overwatch for FREE during this period—no special keys or sign-up codes needed!
The free period will begin on February 16 at 11:00 a.m. PT and end on February 19 at 11:59 p.m. PT in all participating regions across all platforms. If you'd like to see when the weekend will go live in your region, check out the guides below. For additional time zone assistance, please visit timezoneconverter.com.

Before your watch can begin, you'll first need to install Overwatch on your chosen platform. Every platform is a little different—to install and play, please follow the instructions below.
FOR WINDOWS PC (February 16):
Step 1: Download and install the Blizzard Battle.net desktop app, if you haven't already, and launch it.Step 2: Create a FREE Blizzard account, or log in with an existing account. Step 3: Click the "Overwatch" icon, located on the left-hand side of the Blizzard desktop app.Step 4: Select your region from the drop-down menu, then click "Install" to begin the installation process.Step 5: Once installed, click "Play" to begin!
FOR PLAYSTATION 4 (Pre-download starting at 11:00 AM PST on February 13):
Step 1: Turn on your PlayStation 4 and log in to your preferred local user. Step 2: Go to PlayStation Store and select "Search" from the top menu. Step 3: In the search field, type in "Overwatch."Step 4: Select "Overwatch Free Weekend" from the search results and then click "Download."Step 5: Once the download and installation process is complete, click "Start" to begin!
FOR XBOX ONE (Pre-download starting at 11:00 AM PST on February 13):
Step 1: Turn on your Xbox One and log in to your Xbox Live account.Step 2: Go to the Xbox One Store, then select "Search."Step 3: In the search field, type in "Overwatch."Step 4: Select "Overwatch: Origins Edition" from the search results and then click "Free Trial."Step 5: Once the download and installation process is complete, click "Launch" to begin!
The Overwatch Free Weekend client will be available for download from February 16–19.

Q. In what regions is the Free Weekend available?
A. The Free Weekend will be offered in all regions on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. On PC, it will only be available in our Americas, Europe, and Asia gameplay regions—excluding Korea. For more information on which countries are associated with each of our Blizzard gameplay regions, click here.
Q. What game content will be available during the Free Weekend?
A. During the Free Weekend, players will have access to Overwatch's full roster of heroes, maps, and a selection of features—including Quick Play, Custom Games, the Arcade, and Loot Boxes.
Q. How many heroes are available in Overwatch?
A. There are 26 heroes available to play in Overwatch! To learn more about these heroes, click here.
Q. How many maps are available in Overwatch?
A. There are 4 different game modes and 16 different maps available in Overwatch!
Assault: Hanamura, Horizon Lunar Colony, Temple of Anubis, and Volskaya Industries
Escort: Dorado, Junkertown, Route 66, and Watchpoint: Gibraltar
Assault/Escort Hybrid: Eichenwalde, Hollywood, King's Row, and Numbani
Control: Ilios, Lijiang Tower, Nepal, and Oasis
Q. How many players does each mode support?
A. Quick Play maps supports 12 players in a 6v6 format. The Arcade features alternate games modes and maps that support players in a 1v1, 3v3, 6v6, and free-for-all formats.
Q. What different play modes are available in Overwatch during the Free Weekend?
A. There are a variety of ways to play Overwatch during the Free Weekend!
Quick Play: Jump into a game against other players of similar skill.
Play vs. AI: Hone your skills against a team of AI-controlled heroes.
Custom Game: Customize the rules and play a game with your friends or AI.
The Arcade: Change things up with alternate games modes featuring different rules sets and restrictions.
Players can also learn the ropes in a series of training modes: Tutorial, Practice Range, and Practice vs. AI.
Q. Do I need Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus membership to participate in the Free Weekend?
A. Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus are required to play during the Free Weekend.
Q. What languages are supported during Free Weekend?
A. The Free Weekend will be supported in 13 languages across all platforms: English, French, German, Polish, Italian, Russian, Castilian Spanish, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Korean, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.
Q. Will my progress from the Free Weekend carry over if I purchase Overwatch later?
A. Yes. Any progression you earn, including levels as well as skins and other items you get from Loot Boxes, will carry over to the full game if you purchase Overwatch® Game of the Year Edition on Xbox One or PlayStation 4 or any version of Overwatch on PC—just be sure you purchase the game on the same account you played on during this free weekend.
Your stats will also be retained. (Trophies and achievements, however, have been disabled for the Free Weekend.)
Q. Will PC and console gamers be able to play together during the Free Weekend?
A: No, cross-platform play is not available in Overwatch.
Q. Will there be any sort of maintenance planned during the Free Weekend?
A. There's no downtime or maintenance currently planned for the Free Weekend. If this plan changes at any point, we'll be sure to provide information about major service interruptions in the official forums. For additional status updates, be sure to follow @PlayOverwatch on Twitter.

Is Overwatch League Stage 2 Ready for Mercy Changes?
In an article I wrote just a few weeks ago, I broke down what we could learn from the first seven days of Overwatch League. One of the first things I mentioned was the fact that Mercy had, by far, the largest play time of all heroes. As we head into week 4, Mercy’s reign as “Queen of the League” has not ended. In fact, her use has increased, with her pick rate extending into 95% of matches, a whopping 8.75% more than the next most-picked hero (D.Va 86%.) However, today marks the end of the Queen’s reign in competitive play due to her changes in the most recent patch, and questions remain as to how she will affect the league in the future. Here are some of my speculations.
1. The Mercy changes won’t affect the league until the end of February
No one is sure how patch changes will affect the Overwatch League, but the main talk of the town is that patch changes will cross over between Overwatch League stages. As the league is currently in stage 1 week 4, we will probably see the Mercy/Junkrat patch hitting the league at stage 2 week 1. Stage 2 week 1 will start February 21, so I don’t expect to see the patch hit the league until then.
2. Zenyatta will become king of Overwatch League supports.
Also something I talked about in my article from week 1, Zenyatta sees a high amount of Overwatch League playing time. In fact, Zenyatta is present in 78% of all Overwatch League play. This percentage currently places Zenyatta as the third-most played hero in the league. Once Mercy has her wings clipped, it is likely that Zen’s play time will only increase, making him the number one picked support in Overwatch League. In my opinion, this change may even push Zenyatta to take the number one spot as the most played hero in Overwatch League compositions. Let’s see if Zen can transcend his way to the top!
3. Other supports will see a dramatic increase in play time (except Symmetra)
With Mercy falling back down to earth, the void she leaves needs to be filled by other characters. Part of Mercy’s dominance as a support was because other heroes could not match her kit. The other support heroes weren’t broken, Mercy was just super overpowered, and was almost impossible to pass up in league play (thus the 95% play time.) However, now that she stabilized, I imagine that other support heroes will see a dramatic uptick in play time. I think Mercy will still get picked, but I know that Ana, Lucio, and Moira will be way more viable with the Mercy nerf in place. It will be interesting to see who will be the second most picked support, and it’s something that I will be looking into once the patch hits the league.
If I had to guess, I would say that the play time after the nerf will see this distribution of support heroes
From greatest to least:
· Zenyatta
· Ana
· Mercy
· Lucio
· Moira
· Symmetra
What do you think? Will Mercy still be the top picked hero in Overwatch League play? Will Zen be the new top? Will Mercy sink to the bottom of the barrel? Tell us what you think by commenting below!

The Year of the Dog event is upon us and we have all the info! New skins, emotes, highlight intros, CTF map and rules await, with the patch notes adding Doomfist tweaks, a Reaper ult buff as well as a whole lot of bug fixes!
And here are all the new legendary skins, with Genji and Zarya seemingly the winners this time around!

For last year's skins (which are still available) and the emotes and highlight intros, check out the official event page.
February 8 (source)
PATCH HIGHLIGHTS
New Seasonal Event: Lunar New Year 2018
Get ready to ring in the Year of the Dog!
This year, we’re celebrating Lunar New Year with over 50 new seasonal items including legendary skins like Red Phoenix (Zhu Que) Mercy, Black Tortoise (Xuan Wu) Zarya, White Tiger (Bai Hu) Genji, and Black Lily Widowmaker. Experience our updates to our Capture the Flag mode—including a competitive Capture the Flag mode and Sudden Death—on a brand-new map, Ayutthaya.
To learn more about the new Capture the Flag changes, click here.
Hero Skin Selection
Fashion-forward heroes, rejoice! Players can now change hero skins with the “Select Skin” dropdown menu in the Hero Select screen at the start of a match. Show off your favorite unlocked skins when playing solo or coordinate with your friends to be the best dressed on the battlegrounds of tomorrow.
HERO UPDATES
Doomfist
Hand Cannon
Damage reduced from 11 to 6
Number of bullets fired increased from 6 to 11
Spread pattern made more consistent
Developer Comments: We have made a lot of progress with Doomfist’s movement in recent patches but we wanted to revisit his Hand Cannon. While the damage per bullet has been lowered, the number of bullets he fires per Hand Cannon shot has been increased which makes his overall damage output unchanged. Overall, these changes will help his Hand Cannon feel much more consistent.
Reaper
Death Blossom
Now fires at players behind barriers
Developer Comments: Previously, Reaper’s Death Blossom would target barriers but not the players hiding behind them. This change will make it more effective against shields and consistent with how other auto-target abilities work (e.g. McCree’s Deadeye, Symmetra’s Sentry Turret).
USER INTERFACE UPDATES
General
Matchmaking UI now displays the game mode players have queued for while waiting for players
Competitive Play leaver messages now display as a chat notification
The Hero Select screen now displays the game mode and map type
Heroes
Zenyatta’s Orb of Discord and Orb of Harmony will now display its target’s hero name
BUG FIXES
General
Fixed a bug that caused the mouse cursor to lose focus when using third party overlays (e.g. Discord)
Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented the Overwatch League scheduled matches of the day from loading
AI
Fixed a bug that prevented bots from voting on cards at the end of the match on Hybrid and Control maps
Competitive Play
Fixed a bug that prevented capture progress UI on Assault and Hybrid maps from displaying the correct team colors
Fixed a bug that allowed players to use the Hero Select screen during the loading screen at the start of a match
Deathmatch
Fixed a bug that prevented Widowmaker’s Infra-sight from functioning if it was used at the same time as another Widowmaker’s Infra-sight
Fixed a bug that caused Torbjörn to collide with his turret
Fixed a bug that caused Symmetra’s Sentry Turrets to continue targeting Junkrat’s Steel Trap after it was destroyed
Fixed a bug that prevented players from being able to stand on top of enemy players
Fixed a bug that allowed backfilling players to enter at 9th place during the match
Fixed a bug that caused targets hacked by Sombra to appear purple instead of red
Fixed a bug that caused the displayed hero on the lobby screen to appear in low detail when entering and exiting the Overwatch League screen
Game Browser and Custom Games
Fixed a bug that allowed players to summon infinite bots in custom games
Fixed a bug that caused D.Va to lose her Self-Destruct ultimate if she died out of her mech when the “Spawn with Ultimate Ready” option was enabled
Fixed a bug that caused the Victory voice line to play when a match ended in a draw while spectating
Heroes
Fixed a bug that caused airborne heroes to lose speed when changing direction
Fixed a bug that prevented golden weapon visual effects from displaying when an Overwatch League skin was equipped
Fixed a bug that caused heroes’ scoped shots to be calculated as misses in the accuracy statistic
Fixed a bug that prevented Ana’s Candy emote from displaying when viewing Kill Cam footage
Fixed a bug that caused Doomfist’s Rocket Punch to impact with D.Va’s mech before it materialized during her Call Mech ability
Fixed a bug that prevented kills caused by Doomfist’s Rocket Punch from receiving environmental kill credit
Fixed a bug that allowed D.Va’s mech to take damage before it materialized when using Call Mech
Fixed a bug that prevented Genji from sheathing his katana after using his Whirlwind emote
Fixed a bug that prevented Genji from using his Cyber-agility occasionally
Fixed a bug that caused Hanzo’s Dragonstrike to be calculated in the accuracy statistic
Fixed a bug that prevented Hanzo’s Wall Climb from activating occasionally
Fixed a bug that prevented Junkrat’s Concussive Mine from dealing damage if it was deflected by Genji
Fixed a bug that caused Mercy’s Caduceus Staff to disappear when using the Parasol emote
Fixed a bug that caused Mercy to fly in an unintended direction if she was stunned during Guardian Angel
Fixed a bug that prevented Mercy from destroying breakables she collides with in her flight path when using Guardian Angel
Fixed a bug that caused Mercy’s Valkyrie flight controls to not be precise when using Resurrect
Fixed a bug that caused Moira’s Biotic Grasp’s hits against barriers to be calculated as misses in her accuracy statistic
Fixed a bug that extended the cooldown of Orisa’s Halt! by one second if it successfully pulled an enemy
Fixed a bug that allowed Sombra to block Reaper’s Death Blossom if she used her Marioneta emote
Fixed a bug that caused Reinhardt to have a blank expression during his Toast victory pose
Fixed a bug that allowed projectiles to sometimes penetrate Reinhardt’s Barrier Field
Fixed a bug that prevented Reinhardt’s Charge bonus damage from being dealt if the target was sandwiched between a charging friendly Reinhardt and a charging enemy Reinhardt
Fixed a bug that caused Reinhardt to knock back a target instead of pinning them if he collided with an enemy at the start of his Charge
Fixed a bug that prevented Roadhog’s canister from appearing when viewing Overwatch League skins
Fixed a bug that caused Roadhog’s Chain Hook to clip the first-person camera when pulling in a target
Fixed a bug that prevented Sombra’s EMP from canceling an enemy Sombra’s Hack if it was in progress
Fixed a bug that prevented Symmetra’s Shield Generator from displaying in the Overwatch League skin preview screen
Fixed a bug that prevented Torbjörn’s lava ball from appearing in his Batter Up emote if his hammer was equipped
Fixed a bug that caused Widowmaker’s hair to not hang properly in the Hanging Around Highlight Intro when an Overwatch League skin was equipped
Fixed a bug that caused Widowmaker’s Venom Mine to use Overwatch League team colors when an Overwatch League skin was equipped
Fixed a bug that prevented Widowmaker’s Grappling Hook animation from playing when using the ability
Fixed a bug that caused Winston to lose some upward momentum when using Jump Pack off small inclines
Fixed a bug that caused Overwatch League team decals to disappear from Winston’s suit when he used Primal Rage
Fixed a bug that caused Zenyatta’s Discord Orb to fly in an odd direction if its target died before arriving
Hero Gallery
Fixed a bug that prevented players from purchasing non-hero sprays
Maps
Fixed a bug that caused some heroes to get stuck behind the lamp post directly outside the first Defender spawn room in Blizzard World
Fixed an issue that allowed players to reach unintended locations in Blizzard World
Fixed a bug that prevented D.Va’s Micro Missiles from passing through piñatas on Dorado
Fixed a bug that allowed Junkrat’s RIP-tire to travel under the trailer at the final point on Hollywood
Fixed a bug that prevented Moira’s Biotic Orbs from bouncing off the wooden pillars on Hollywood
Fixed a bug that caused the UI to show a fraction of a meter to go when reaching checkpoints on Escort and Assault/Escort maps
UI
Fixed a bug that prevented the hero portrait from displaying when watching Highlights when an Overwatch League skin was equipped
Fixed a bug that prevented player portraits from displaying during the Play of the Game, Kill Cam, Spectating, and Highlights